


NaNoWriMo #2

by politicalmamaduck



Series: November 2015 NaNoWriMo Challenge [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Diary/Journal, Drabble, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 07:15:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5281682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/politicalmamaduck/pseuds/politicalmamaduck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While combing through the depths of the Citadel, Samwell Tarly finds a book he would never expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	NaNoWriMo #2

It was a curious volume, small and handwritten, bound in beautiful black leather and with an embroidered dragon upon the front.

Samwell had been combing through every library, every archive into which he was allowed in the Citadel in order to find as much information as he could about the Others. His research was not turning up much besides rumors and dismissals of the Others as myth as of yet, but he would not give up so easily. 

Glancing down at the book in his hand, he realized it was not just any dragon embroidered upon the cover. It was the three-headed sigil of House Targaryen.

The slim book cracked as he opened it, as if it would fall apart in his hands and smelling of an old flowery perfume. Careful, Samwell, he thought to himself.

An elegant hand had written all the pages in very orderly, straight lines. Some pages appeared to be Valyrian poetry, others devotions and prayers to the Seven, the Mother in particular.

Samwell started reading at random, before he realized what the book truly was.

_Aegon insists that we must start thinking of a marriage for Daenerys. She is but a babe in arms yet, and I cannot bear to part with her. She was scarce a few hours old, her twin brother being prepared for burial, and he began scheming as to where he could pawn her off in marriage. Not that it will do anyone a bit of good, least of all her; he cares little for anything or anyone but his many appetites._

Aegon? Thought Samwell. Maester Aemon’s Aegon was dead by the time Daenerys Targaryen was born. He was Aegon Targaryen, the Fifth of his name, however. One of the prior Aegons, perhaps? Aegon the Fourth….

Sam racked his brain, trying to remember if King Aegon the Unworthy had a daughter named Daenerys. Everyone knew of his deathbed legitimization of all his bastard children and the havoc it wrought for generations to come.

But was one of his many children named Daenerys?

Samwell decided to continue to read the mysterious book in the meantime. Who was this writer, and to whom were they writing?

Selecting another page that was not written in Valyrian or appearing to be prayers, he read

_Aemon brought me flowers today. Red roses, to honor our house colors. How sweetly they smell! I have pressed one into the back pages of this book. I pray for Aemon every day, that he may be rewarded for his valor in battle, and for how devotedly he protects our family. He has been my most loyal companion since childhood; I know not how I would bear my many trials without the consolation of his steady presence. We read aloud from The Seven-Pointed Star while Daenerys scampered about today. It was a welcome respite from Aegon and his merciless taunts at every meal._

Aemon. How many Aemons had there been? Maester Aemon, may he rest in peace, thought Samwell. Prince Aemon the Dragonknight?

Aemon the Dragonknight was said to have joined the Kingsguard for love of his sister Naerys, who was forced to wed their brother….Aegon.

Was this Naerys’ private journal?

He carefully turned the pages, examining each one with care. He found more references to Aegon and Aemon, clearly the writer’s brothers. Her daughter Daenerys, and earlier, a son, Daeron.

Surely, this must be Queen Naerys, he thought, for here Daeron is described as Aegon’s heir. This must be King Daeron the Good, he thought.

As he continued to read, carefully inserting scraps of parchment to mark places that would require further research, he felt an odd kinship to the forgotten queen. She had been ill-treated by her brother, who clearly loved her not, but forced her to perform her wifely duties against her desires. Samwell had a sudden flashback to his father forcing him to hunt when he was young, and shuddered. He had cried himself to sleep at night, hysterically praying that he would become the brave heir that his father so desperately wanted him to be.

It seemed to him from the journal entries that Naerys had known something about the desperation of prayer. Reflecting on his childhood, he remembered his maester discussing her piety and how she was one of the finest examples of virtuous womanhood, along with her ancestor Good Queen Alysanne. He hoped Queen Naerys had found more consolation from the Seven than he had.

It was plain that Naerys was a simple woman, loving her children and her brother more than anyone, and taking pleasure in small things such as her daily devotions or a gift of roses. To think that she had been Queen of all Westeros, thought Samwell. And yet she was forgotten in the aftermath of her husband’s many infidelities, his bastards trying to usurp her son’s rightful throne.

No one truly knew her, thought Samwell. Not her husband, not her brother; she was entirely alone in the Red Keep, yet surrounded by the court and its vanities.

Naerys may not have been who Aegon had wanted for his queen, and Samwell may not have been who his father wanted for an heir, yet they had made their way through life all the same.

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be the fourth and final fic in my series, but the Muse had other plans. Queen Naerys is one of my favorite characters, and I was so excited to be writing her for the first time. Comments and constructive feedback always welcome! Huge thank you to my beta boo Desiree as always. You can find me on tumblr at politicalmamaduck.tumblr.com.


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